Just a thought: if you follow the pundit discussion of matters fiscal, you get the definite impression that some kinds of deficit reduction are considered “serious”, while others are not.
The Obama administration proposes raising taxes on the rich; Republicans propose raising the age for participation in Medicare.
Those tax hikes would raise $1.6 trillion over the next decade; according to the CBO, raising the Medicare age would save $113 billion in federal funds over the next decade.
Paul Krugman is my favorite economist. He inhabits the real world outside the Beltway and outside the heads of the very serious people who expound on the teevee. Mr President and Democrats, keep in mind that the majority of people in the country voted for your policies. You have no reason to make concessions to the side that lost the election, namely the Republicans, especially to the crazy extremists in the GOP. Leave it to Boehner to pacify the hoards in the House. That's his job. Your job is to stand your ground and our ground, as you were elected to do. Boehner, as was true of Mitt Romney, will not give details of his not-serious proposals to address the deficit, but don't we all know the devil is in the details?
